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Thursday, September 06, 2007
Rebecca Hagelin :: Townhall.com Columnist
Education Policy: Putting Congress to the Test
by Rebecca Hagelin
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The best part of this approach is that it would move decisions about education back to the state and local level, closer to parents. Those of us who champion family issues are sometimes asked what type of education we favor: Public? Private? Homeschool? The fact is, children can excel at all three. What’s important is that their parents, who know them best, are the ones making the choices about what works best for their children -- and when.

Parent-centered education reforms continue to proliferate nationwide. This year, more than 1 million children will be able to attend safe and effective schools chosen by their parents, thanks to reforms implemented at the state and local level.

I urge you to become better acquainted with the many schooling options now available. Heritage’s “Types of School Choice” is a great place to start. It outlines just about everything, from tax credits and education savings accounts to scholarships and charter schools. And it shows why parents should settle for nothing less than excellence when it comes to the supremely important task of educating their children.

We need to remember that parents -- not federal bureaucrats -- are best situated to direct their children’s education. Congress and President Bush should study his words when he was governor of Texas: “The federal government should be a limited partner, not a general partner. If they feel like sending money back to the states, fine. But don’t tell us how to run things.”

It’s time to tear down the NCLB façade and restore true localization and parental control to education.
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About The Author
Rebecca Hagelin is a public speaker on the family and culture and the author of the new best seller, 30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family.
 
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Reply # 1
Date: Sep 6, 2007 - 11:31 PM EST
One Little Problem
There's one little problem with the plan you-all want, which sounds like "no public schools, and the government providing vouchers to parents so they can send their kids to private schools". Right now the way to go to private school is to pay, often a fairly high tuition. Many of the people calling for vouchers (ie free government money, the very thing they claim to despise when it goes to the poor, elderly, sick etc) are not people of means or background. Their kids are not the kind of kids currently attending Country Day Prep for cash tuition.

So when all these folks get to send their children, via vouchers, ie free, to private schools, all the problems carried by public school pupils and parents will then be lodged in the private schools. What do you think is going to happen when the sophisticated CEOs and corporate attorneys who are paying $20,000 a year tuition to have their children in private school find out that the school is now in the hands of plumbers and fork-lift operators who don't want evolution taught but do want prayers to open every class? Who expect to ban a literary classic from the school library because it takes the Lord's name in vain? Who don't want foreign languages taught because they're not American? Who want to crush anything "elite" (get rid of soccer, bring on the dirt bikes).

In other words, what makes you think you will be welcomed at private schools?

And the philosophy of this confuses me. You want a government handout so you will have a freebie for using private property. Is that conservative?
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Reply # 2
Date: Sep 6, 2007 - 8:17 PM EST
Shut down pub.educa.
Pub. ed. is not in the Const. It comes from state const.'s and most of them have only had mandatory attendance laws since 100 years ago. NJ's go back to the 1880s, but CA didn't pass mand. attendance until 1913.

Ergo, a return to all private school ed. is not that long ago and not chiseled in stone.

Turn brds of ed. into bds. of trustees. Let parents keep rax monies and pay direct tuition. Find a formula for renters to use a portion of the real estate taxes normally paid by landlords for their tuitions.

Immediately, the fed gov't can get out of ed. and save gadzillions in just shuffling tax collection and dispersals among bureacracies.

The associaitons (unions) will lost clout.

Current facilities can be used if sending areas are limited to townships or counties.

New all-voucher schools can throw-out progressive mission statements that bleat about student potential and self esteem and return to their mission of teaching skills and cultural background young people need to become productive adults.

Actually, Mike Piscal in W. LA with his charter schools program is beginning to produce the above model through fundraising and hard-line academics. He says he eventually wants to takeovfer LA schools altogether.

The CAEA hates him, but that's the point.

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